Former Shin Bet head, Nadav Aragaman, calls Netanyahu's speech 'hollow'

The former head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), Nadav Argaman, strongly attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday for his speech on the Philadelphi corridor on Monday.

In an interview with Danny Kushmaro on Channel 12, Argaman said that Netanyahu's speech was "the best show in town," but was "hollow" and did not present the truth about what is happening in Gaza and the North.

According to him, "The Philadelphi corridor is only required for the Netanyahu-Smotrich axis to preserve this messianic and dangerous government."

Argaman explained that there is no connection between the smuggling of ammunition to Gaza and the Philadelphi corridor, as Netanyahu claimed in his speech.

According to him, "there were smuggling tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Egypt until around 2016-2017, but Egypt, at Israel's request, flooded the tunnels with seawater and collapsed them."

Argaman added that "since the Egyptian action, very few weapons have been introduced into the Gaza Strip through the corridor" and that "most of the smuggling takes place through the Rafah crossing."

In doing so, he refutes Netanyahu's claim that "the Philadelphi corridor is necessary for the axis of evil."

In the interview, Argaman also referred to Iran as the main strategic threat.

"The head of the snake is Iran. The main problem is Iran," he said. "We experienced Hamas on October 7, Hezbollah in the North, and we see what is happening with the Houthis and with Iraq."

According to him, "Israel should focus first and foremost on returning all the hostages. Any other action should be secondary to that."

Referring to the conflict in Gaza, Argaman stated that the fighting must be stopped and a ceasefire must be reached to save lives.

"The return of the hostages is above all else. The elimination of Yahya Sinwar is necessary, but not sufficient." He warned that if the hostages are not returned, "there will be an unbearable rift here for many years."

Sharp criticism of the coalition and the president

Argaman did not spare criticism for Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, calling the government "messianic and dangerous."

"They didn't go through any college that deals with strategy and security. Although they are convinced they know what to do, they are fed by a messianic worldview," he said. He emphasized that this attitude "has taken over the State of Israel," and it is not the reality in which we must live.

Regarding the political and legal situation in Israel, Argaman warned that "the legal revolution continues with all its might and is very dangerous."

According to him, if the current government continues to act in its current way, "we will find ourselves in a semi-dictatorship."

Argaman also addressed the country's president, Isaac Herzog, calling on him to take a more active position: "The president of the country should take a much more active position and not sit on the sidelines."

He also called on the current head of the Shin Bet, Ronan Bar, to act as much as possible to promote a deal for the release of the hostages.

Finally, Argaman claimed that Israel needs courageous and compassionate leadership and expressed doubt about Netanyahu's ability and desire to provide it.

"Bibi can do anything, but he doesn't want to," he concluded.